


Driving

by euphowolf



Category: Love Live! Sunshine!!
Genre: Driving, F/F, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-08
Updated: 2018-03-08
Packaged: 2019-03-28 20:43:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,192
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13911855
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/euphowolf/pseuds/euphowolf
Summary: Cars, sunlight, and a four-letter word.





	Driving

**Sunlight, warm upon her cheek.**

Broken shadows flicker upon her shut eyelids, bringing her gradually into wakefulness. The radio is turned down to a mere murmur, can hardly be heard above the rumble of car upon road. Air, cool but not unpleasantly so, blows across her bare skin and brings the slightest prickle of goosebumps to the surface. 

Still half-asleep, she is only tangentially aware of these things - the light, the shadow, the music, and above all the sense of movement, of going forward. 

She hears a shifting beside her, sees with her eyes still closed a shadow fall over her. The car veers just a little and is quickly guided back to its original path. Something made of soft and heavy material falls upon her body, covering her unceremoniously. She flinches, then relaxes under the comforting weight. Someone tugs at it, tucking here and there so that it more neatly spreads across her torso.

She comes out of her slumber now, woken by all of it, cracking open one sleepy eyelid and then the other, and turning her head to the right to catch the perpetrator in the act. Kanan freezes guiltily as they make eye contact, her left hand still in the middle of straightening out the jacket she has draped over the girl in the passenger seat.

“Heya,” she says, smiling sheepishly. “Didn’t mean to wake ya. You looked cold.” She goes back to gripping the wheel with both hands, shifts her gaze back to the curving highway. 

Mari gives a lazy yawn, still loathe to move her sleep-heavy limbs. She gropes blindly with her fingers, finding the sleeves of the jacket, pulling her arms through them until she is wearing the windbreaker frontside. She sits up and stretches to work the kinks out of her neck and body before she finally speaks.

“It’s fine. I was awake anyway.” She stares out the window, sees the forest flashing by in green blurs and giant, unfathomable trees. “Are we close?” 

Kanan nods, steering the car smoothly along a curve in the path. “Yeah. Maybe 15 minutes? We should be able to see the ocean soon.” 

Mari hums contentedly and glances at the driver again. She takes her time, lets her eyes roam across the ever-changing features of her face, the strong curve of her jaw, lingering at her collarbone. She follows Kanan’s eyes as they dart back and forth watchfully, on the road one second and on the rearview mirror the next. 

Kanan notices her staring and blushes self-consciously. Mari likes the way the color comes into her cheeks so easily, despite how laid-back and unflappable she looks. 

“What’s up, Mari?”

She grins and leans over the console, batting her eyelashes exaggeratedly like a maiden in love. That is what she is, after all. “Just thinking about how  _ cute _ you are.” 

Kanan laughs and reaches out to gently nudge her back upright. In the movement, Mari catches a flash of the diver’s bra peeking out from the loose tanktop she’s wearing, wants to touch, settles for grasping the hand at her shoulder instead. They twine their fingers together, palms touching. Kanan runs her thumb back and forth absently over Mari’s as she keeps the car on course with her right hand. 

If only she could spend the rest of her life like this, Mari thinks, sitting next to Kanan, feeling the car shudder beneath her as they cruise aimlessly on a neverending highway. That would be as close to heaven as she ever got. Peace on Earth.

But Kanan pulls her hand and its warmth away now, puts it back on the steering wheel. She uses the other to fumble at the car door. The window on the passenger side gives a mechanical squeak as it rolls down, letting in the air, and with it the faint smell of salt.

“Look,” she exclaims, and Mari looks, but not outside, just at the girl next to her and her open-mouthed, unguarded smile. “It’s the beach! We’re almost there!”

And Mari thinks that maybe it’s okay after all, if the drive does end, if they have to let go and get out of the car and face the world again. 

“Yes,” she agrees simply.

She turns her head to search for the ocean.  

 

**Sunlight, reflecting off the waves.**

She squints as the car rounds a bend and the sea comes into view again. It’s bright, maybe brighter than anything she’s ever seen, but she stares hard anyway, until the shine threatens to burn her eyes. Only then does she look away.

Dark splotches dance in her vision, distorting the world and casting it in illusory shadow. She blinks once, twice, three times, shaking her head a little to clear the spots away. When they finally do shrink enough for her to see again, she finds that there  _ is _ something brighter, after all. 

She sees Mari, bathed in light. It brings out the gold in her hair, which is whipping around in the wind from the open window. Sunglasses hide her honey-colored eyes, but when she catches Kanan staring, she lifts a slender hand from the wheel to push them up past her forehead. 

“You like what you see?” she teases, and of course the answer is yes, though Kanan doesn’t say it. She laughs instead, because Mari always makes her laugh, because Mari could bring a smile out from anyone.

“Keep your eyes on the road,” she chides, not managing even an imitation of reprove in her voice. Mari winks playfully and guns the gas petal, and the car leaps forward. 

Kanan’s used to the blonde’s antics by now and knows she’s a safe driver, though that knowledge isn’t quite enough to keep her heart from skipping a beat at the sudden surge in speed. She chuckles again and, exhilarated, puts her face up near the window on her side, inhaling deeply. 

The ocean breeze meets her eagerly, and the smell of salt sends prickles down her body. She closes her eyes and lets the wind brush against her face, stealing the air from her lungs. This is exactly what being with Mari is like: speeding down a highway with the windows down. She’s never quite sure where it’ll take her, but she’ll always be along for the ride. 

She pulls back in now, kicking off her flipflops and stretching her sun-warmed legs out. Bits of sand still clings to her calves and ankles. She hums as she wriggles her toes, remembering the coolness of the saltwater between them. 

The car banks around another curve and she glances over at Mari again. The blonde worries at her lower lip as she gives the wheel a firm jerk to the left. She holds her breath whenever she makes a turn, Kanan realizes, and warmth swells in her stomach. Even after so many years, there are still new things to learn. 

New things to fall in love with.

“The weather was really good today, huh,” she finds herself saying, just so she can get an answer, just so she can hear Mari’s voice. Mari obliges as if she knows exactly what Kanan wants.

“ _ Perfect _ ! And Dia said it’d be cloudy, too. By the way, she said the other day...” She goes on and Kanan listens, submerges herself in the words. They talk purely for the sake of talking, their two voices mingling above the dull roar of wind.

The sun sinks steadily lower, until it’s casting its golden-red light over the ocean, and Mari rolls up the windows eventually as the temperature begins to drop. The car feels unnaturally quiet without the rush of air. 

Kanan watches the sunset with sadness. It’s beautiful, but it also signals the end of the day, and she doesn’t want it to yet, as childish as the thought is. All she wants is some more time, just a few more minutes of driving in the light. She clutches at every second greedily, willing the sun to remain above the water for just a little while longer. 

“Kanan,” Mari calls out, and she turns. The blonde’s eyes are soft and gentle. From the way she smiles, Kanan wonders if she’s somehow read her mind and knows exactly what she’s thinking. “Let’s go again soon.” 

Kanan relaxes her shoulders that she didn’t realize were tensed, and swallows past a lump in her throat that she didn’t know had formed. 

“Yeah,” she says, and the melting sun, turning the waves into pools of liquid gold, doesn’t seem like such a fearful thing anymore. In fact, she almost welcomes the night now. She doesn’t quite mind the day is ending.

There will, after all, be other days.

 

**Sunlight, filtering through the curtains.**

The two are sprawled on opposite sides of the couch. The faint sound of birds chirping can be heard from the window as a gentle breeze ruffles into the room. Kanan’s reading a book on surfing that You lent her, and Mari’s cradling a trashy romance she’s fast losing interest in.

It’s not an uncommon way for them to spend a Sunday afternoon, lounging about in the comfiest clothing they have and just hanging out. But today, it isn’t enough for Mari. She pouts, makes a face, and Kanan sees but pretends not to notice, hiding her smile behind the spine of her book.

Mari isn’t fooled, but she lets the farce stand. She peeks over her pages instead, looking at the girl before her, watching the steady rise and fall of her shoulders as she inhales and exhales. The sight is comforting, a reassuring reminder of life and movement. Every breath is a celebration. 

She’s content for awhile just to stare, book forgotten. But she’s never been one for sitting still, not when there’s still so much to do, so she stretches out a sly leg across the cushions and prods Kanan’s calf with her toe. 

Kanan bites her lip to keep from laughing and keeps still, drawing out the game. They’ve played this before - in some ways, have never stopped playing, have always been tangled in this free-wheeling, endless dance from the very moment they first met, or maybe even before then. 

Mari pokes her again, more insistently, and Kanan reacts this time, shifting her leg on top to trap the other girl’s against the sofa. The blonde giggles as she retaliates, bringing her other leg into play, and Kanan answers with the same. They engage in a furious battle that is somehow always gentle, bare skin skimming past bare skin. The cushions are pummeled mercilessly as they simultaneously try to avoid and attack each other, until Mari finally ends it by sitting up entirely and pouncing on Kanan, crashing into her.

Kanan throws up her hands to meet her and they wrestle playfully, books dropping to the floor with two disgruntled thuds. Their unrestrained laughter shatters the silence of the living room but brings a new kind of peace, the kind that sounds like two people doing their best to tickle each other.

There is a lull in their skirmish, a breathless pause, where Kanan peers up at the girl above her. Mari is all disheveled hair and slipping camisole strap and Kanan looks at her and realizes all over again in that moment that she would give her life for her a million times over. Mari sees the softening of her eyes and wants to know, wants to find out what she’s thinking. 

But she doesn’t ask. She doesn’t need to. She opens her mouth - her mouth that Kanan loves to kiss - and a name falls out.

“Kanan.” Two syllables, an ocean of meaning. 

“Hm?”

“I’m bored.” 

There is that indulgent smile, the one that promises the world. The diver reaches both hands out to cup them gently against the other girl’s cheeks.

“Let’s go for a drive.” Mari’s eyes light up like fireworks, just how Kanan expects them to, but somehow it still catches her by surprise. The blonde scrambles off the couch and comes back dressed in the time it takes for Kanan to get her keys. It’s a few more minutes before Kanan can pull on her shorts and grab her bag, but soon they’re both at the doorway slipping on their shoes. It’s only when Kanan’s hand is on the doorknob that Mari asks.

“Where do you wanna go?”

Kanan looks up at her and is struck all at once with the reality of being next to this girl, about to embark on another journey with her. She wonders if it’s a sin to be so terribly in love with someone, to need someone like a body needs an organ. There is a balance to all things, she knows, and surely, with so much unbridled happiness practically radiating from her fingertips and over everything she touches, an unspeakable tragedy must be awaiting her in the future. 

But she also knows that no matter what lies ahead, she won’t be facing it alone. And because of that, she can smile honestly now, with all her being, her heart in her throat and spilling from her mouth as she breathes out her reply.

“Anywhere.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> Not going to lie, this one's a pretty personal one for me. Thanks for reading thus far!
> 
> The form of this piece is "triptych." I can't draw, so I had to write it instead.


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